Security at Sea: This is a mixture of my own research into maritime security issues, and includes articles, videos and images of interest from other sources.. Feel free to use these, including my articles and post graduate research (thesis) as long all are correctly attributed to the relevant author.

Saturday, June 2, 2012

Global Warming & the Arctic Oil Rush

"The question of defining to whom the Arctic resources belong to (the oil
alone stands for 25% of the world's reserves) is dividing neighboring
countries and includes the clauses of UN's Convention for the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) and the strange shape of the Lomonosov Ridge, a key issue for the diverse territorial claims: each country aims at proving that their part of the ridge belongs to their continental shelf and is not a seperate formation, in order to expand the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) to a distance of 370 nautical miles.

The USA and Canada fight for the Northwest Passage, while Norway and
Russia dispute the Barents Sea and Canada and Denmark dispute the rights
to a small island on the cost of Greenland.
The processes of appropriation of the wealth in the Arctic are
variable and trudge along at different paces. So far, Norway leads the
race, as it started, this year, its first commercial exploration of
natural gas in Snohvi. In the meantime, Russia, which has planted a titanium metal flag
on the seabed, 4 200m (14,000ft) below the North Pole, in a 15th
century-like attempt at claiming the territory, follows Norway closely
as it prepares to commercially explore oil and natural gas in Shtokman,
in the Barents Sea, whose oil reserves are also disputed by Norway.
Denmark is slightly behind, but it has already financed an expedition to the north of Greenland to determine the limits of their of their claim to the continental shelf. Canada,
who never liked the attempt led by the USA to declare the Northwest
Passage, which had always been considered "Canadian territory", as an
"international strait" because it shortens the distance between Asia and
Europe by 6 000 Km, is afraid of the environmental consequences of an
unruly use of its waters, but doesn't restrain itself from considering
itself owner of the biggest part of the Arctic
and its richness. The USA, who are yet to ratify the UNCLOS, are
preparing themselves to do so as a means of contextualizing their
territorial claims to Alasca, assuring their share in the plundering.
It's likely that all these movements will end up being decided, as a last resort, in a rude wrestling,
under the auspices of the International Criminal Court, but this
degrading show will certainly go down in History as another act of greed
over our planet, orchestrated by large capital and sanctioned by the
international community, and which will furthermore mortgage the future
of mankind."

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Eight Bells

Here you will find articles, videos, and my blogs relating to my research and areas of interest are in maritime security, politics of Indonesia, and the Asia-Pacific, law and order at sea in the Caribbean & Southeast Asia, terrorism (insurgencies) Submarine warfare, and the history of war at sea...all washed down with G & Ts as the sun crosses the yard-arm............